new build complete, problems booting

[Ryan220587]

i have all but completed my first computer build just this morning. this afternoon i was having a fiddle around getting all the parts in. it's an am2 3000+ with gigabyte m55 sli-s4 mobo, gigabyte 7900gt, 1 gig corsair ddr2 pc5300 ram, and a thermaltake case with 430 watt psu. i am using an old cd drive and an old 20 gig seagate hdd. when i first hit the power nothing happened, but i quickly had a fiddle with some connections and i managed to get the computer running. at first, i had all fans working, and some led's working. simply fiddling with the led connections got those working, but i still got no signal on my screen. i also get no light on the cd drive, and it doesn't open. i am thinking that the older cd drive and hdd might not be working properly. my mate thinks that my rig doesn't have a big enough psu, but i don't think it's the problem. i have seen both the hdd and cd drive work in the older computer which i pulled them from. any thoughts? i'll have another look at it tomorrow.

[mrniceguy]

reseat your vid card, first time it's quite hard to get it in there. Also make sure you have your power plug for the vid card in there and that it's on it's own power line. it sounds like you don't have your plugs for power and reset (all the front panel stuff) in right, get it in good light and consult your gigabyte manual to be sure you've got it right. If any of those are wrong it's unlikely your computer will work right. 430W is usually fine for your system, the hard drive and cd rom ought to work even if it isn't enough. Is the PSU the one that came with the case? aka is it a thermaltake psu? Remove and replug all the 4 conductor power plugs for the system, also if they're still using the square 4 pin plug to suppliment the cpu power make sure you got that plugged in.

You didn't mention any beep codes for the error, if your moniter didn't come on it should have given a code to indicate the specific error.

[carl33p]

A good quality 430W PSU is sufficient. Although if its generic(came with the case, proly not).
How many amps on 12V, and whose it made by? (Look on side sticker of PSU)

What do you mean fiddling around? You need to try being more descriptive...

Do you know for sure that the old drives work?

As far as not getting a signal to the moniter:
1. Reseat your GPU.
2. Make sure you have the 20pin and 4pin connected to the motherboard.
3. Plug in the power connector to your GPU if it needs one.


ATM, when you turn on the PSU, do the fans and LEDS stay running?

[electric]

take a look in your motherboard manual to see if that old HD is
supported specifications

[danny6597]

hi i dont wish to teach you how to suck eggs but nobody has mentioned to check your jumper settings on the HD must be master and the cd drive slave if you are just useing 1 IDE cable hope this helps

[him61]

Tons of stuff can make the old Monitor no signal thing happen. It could be faulty wiring, faulty RAM, vid card, cpu, HDD, cd drive, something messed up in the BIOS, almost anything.

The most important part of this problem is if it posted. Did it give any beeps durring startup?

[Ryan220587]

hi guys and thanks for all the replies...firstly, sorry if i was not very specific, it was very early in the morning and i was extremely tired...the power supply is the 430 watt thermaltake psu that came with the case. however from what i know i believe this psu to be well and truly sufficient. the hdd definitely works as a primary hdd as i was able to access it on an older computer running windows 98. as for the graphics card, my best mate reckons that it could be the reason too, as i get "no signal detected" on my monitor. carl, i originally had both the 4 pin and 20 pin atx plugs connected, but when i did, absolutely nothing worked. as soon as i pulled out the 4 pin one, everything started working (ie all fans and lights worked). even if it's the hdd and cd drive, something should at least still come up on my screen telling me they're not set up properly right? that's why i have a suspicion that it could very well be the gfx card. oh and i'll check the amps on 12v today carl. will also have another try with the 4 pin atx plug, because it does just as u say, it's power supplement (or so i believe - i'm still learning ) thanks for all ur help guys, any more thoughts/comments are appreciated, anything just to get this baby running!

[him61]

Do you hear any beeps (POST (Power On Self Test)) from the motherboard?

I'm not going to be rude or post this any further, but the POST (beeps) WILL and I repeat WILL tell you what's wrong.

[Chapper]

Is your HD spinning? You ought to be able to hear it if you put your head close. I often touch it on top to see if I can feel any internal vibration.

[danny6597]

i know many things can cause the above problem but its as well to start with the basics and check the jumpers wireing ram and bios before looking further